


The Spice of Life

by Kireizaki



Category: Working!!
Genre: F/F, Genderbending, Manga & Anime, Romance, Transformation, Transgender, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 05:09:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21173957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kireizaki/pseuds/Kireizaki
Summary: An employee at a family restaurant who desperately wants to become a chef offers to cook a private meal for one of their co-workers. Eager to impress her, they use a suspicious spice on their dish that, well, doesn't exactly help, but does make things a whole lot more interesting for the both of them.





	The Spice of Life

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally published on DeviantArt on August 22, 2018.
> 
> I'm slowly working through much of my library of work and getting them reposted on here until everything can be published on both sites concurrently. Please excuse any roughness in my writing, as I've developed a great deal since then!

Kisaki picked up the half-finished cigarette she’d rested lazily against the ashtray, taking a long drag before staring at the plate laid out before her: a simple breakfast with a single bite taken out of each piece of food. She thought about how best to convey her feelings on what she’d just been asked to eat.  
  
“It’s bad.”  
  
Her assessment was simple and to-the-point, not bearing a hint of delicacy or sensitivity, but it got her opinion across perfectly.  
  
“That’s...that’s it? It’s just...bad?”  
  
“It’s just bad.” Kisaki looked Haruto right in the eyes. She looked vaguely annoyed, but, then again, he didn’t think he’d ever seen her so much as crack a smile. Kisaki was, as always, almost impossible to read. Beneath that stony exterior, though, she was beautiful. Every inch of her, from her fluffy, blonde hair to her voluptuous figure, exuded a cool, adult charm that Haruto, much as he tried to hide it, was completely captivated by. That said, she was almost completely unapproachable, treating everyone around her coldly or, in extreme cases, with barely-veiled hostility, like a delinquent ready to attack anyone who even tried to talk to her. It was a small miracle that she’d even let Haruto come near her, but he could barely believe how lucky he was when she agreed to taste the food he made after work each day.  
  
“Anything redeeming about it today? At all?”  
  
“Haruto…” Kisaki started, taking another, much longer drag of her cigarette, then grinding it against the ashtray when she was finished, “why do you come to me for this? Why not someone else?”  
  
“B-because...you’re honest, Kisaki!” Haruto blurted out. “The others are all really nice, but...they’re too nice about this, honestly. With them, I always get a ‘you’ll get it next time!’ or ‘just keep trying!’ even though it’s pretty clear they hate what I’m making. It’s...it’s sweet. I mean it, I really appreciate that they’re trying to keep me feeling optimistic about all of this, but well...I’ll never get better if I don’t get honest feedback, and I can always rely on you for that. Even when it’s harsh, that’s...a pretty powerful motivator, for me, anyway.”  
  
Kisaki just stared at him, her expression completely unchanging as she asked, “So you’re a masochist, then? You like getting put down, huh?”  
  
“N-no! I just...wanna honestly know when I’ve done a bad job so I can tell myself that, next time, I’ll do everything I can to get better. That’s all...”  
  
Her eyes narrowed just a touch. “Why are you doing this?”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“You heard me. You’ve been cagey about this whole thing, and if you want me to keep helping, I need to know what your goal is here.”  
  
“It’s...I dunno, it’s kinda embarrassing…”  
  
“I don’t care. If you’re bold enough to give me food like this almost every single day, you’d better be able to at least tell me why.”  
  
“I...I want to become a chef,” he said, blushing softly and looking away from Kisaki. “I know I’m no good, but...it’s why I started working here. I figured getting the right kind of experience, even if it’s just at a small family restaurant, would help me learn and grow. I know it’s dumb. I don’t even work in the kitchen, but, well…” He trailed off, his confidence fading the more he spoke, his own dream sounding increasingly ridiculous to his ears.  
  
“You’re a long, long way away from that,” Kisaki stated, bluntly. “Not even in the same ballpark.”  
  
“I know. I...dunno why I really keep trying, ahaha…” he laughed, weakly. “Kinda feel like I should just cut my losses here…”  
  
“That’s not my point, moron. Don’t quit.”  
  
“But-”  
  
“Shut up. Stick with this. I dunno where you’ll end up, or if you’ll reach that goal, but if this is important to you, could you really tell yourself you’d be satisfied if you just stopped right here?” Her glare looked more fierce than usual. For as intimidating as she often was, though, something about the way she looked, the way she was speaking...it lit a fire in Haruto he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt.  
  
“N-no, I don’t think I could.”  
  
“That’s right, so keep going, keep giving this your all. I’ll be here to help, as long as you promise you won’t throw in the towel. Or poison me.”  
  
“I...you’re right, I promise.” Haruto wasn’t sure, but he swore he could see the faintest trace of a smile breaking through her steely gaze as he spoke. “But can I ask something?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Any specific issues with today’s dish you could point out? I really wanna get it right tomorrow.”  
  
Kisaki sighed. “It’s...bland. You followed a recipe, right?”  
  
“Right.”  
  
“Mmm, figures. It feels safe, like you didn’t want to get even a little creative with it. I’m guessing you read that recipe over and over while you worked, making sure not to deviate from it in the slightest.”  
  
“Yeah...I was just worried I’d screw it up.”  
  
“That’s the heart of it. You’re too scared to get anything wrong, so the whole thing ends up feeling...dull, indistinct. Put some more of yourself into this, get creative. Be brave and don’t tell yourself that all of your own ideas are bad. Even if it’s small, taking things into your own hands will lead to better dishes, and you’ll have more fun with it.”  
  
“I...wow, I kinda wasn’t expecting that much from you, ahaha…” he laughed, sheepishly, immediately stopping as he saw her eyes narrow.  
  
“You asked, I answered.”  
  
“Y-yeah, s-sorry if I was rude. Really though, Kisaki, thank you. This means a lot to me. Tomorrow’s dish is going to be my greatest one yet, I promise!” he cried out, feeling more optimistic than he had in weeks.  
  
“Don’t mention it.” She stood up, and started walking towards the door. “You didn’t need me for anything else now, did you?” she asked, not turning back to face him.  
  
“Nah, I’m good for today. Thanks again, Kisaki. I’ll see you tomorrow!”  
  
“Yeah,” she started, lighting another cigarette and taking a long drag, “can’t wait.”  
  
She walked out without another word while Haruto got started on cleaning up the dishes he’d used, a happy smile painted on his face the entire time. Sure, today hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped, but Kisaki’s support had him feeling incredible, like he could finally see a path forward.  
  
“Put more of my own stamp on things, huh?” he asked himself, switching off the lights in the kitchen, locking up, and stepping out into the cold winter night. “I know the perfect way to do that!” he cried out ecstatically as he started rushing home, eager to get to bed and start the next day as quickly as possible.  
  
~~~  
  
“So, what’s on the menu today?” Kisaki asked, never once looking away from her phone.  
  
“Pasta Carbonara! I know it’s not all that traditional, but my mom used to really love making it, so I dug through some of her old recipe books that she gave me when I moved into my own place! I figure there’s no dish I’ll be more comfortable than a family recipe, so I can divert a little more and really put my own stamp on it!” Haruto smiled proudly as held up a bag full of the ingredients he’d need for tonight’s meal.  
  
“Good call.”  
  
“It was a childhood favorite of mine, too! The sauce was so rich and creamy, it was heavenly! Whenever I asked her how she got it so tasty, she’d just tell me it was ‘girl power,’ at least up until I went to middle school, haha. I obviously won’t be able to use that, so I guarantee, I won’t be following things to the letter this time!”  
  
Haruto grinned as he heard Kisaki let out a quiet little puff of breath, her steely expression giving way to a slight smile as she looked up at him. He’d never actually heard her laugh before, so this reaction, he decided, was more than good enough.  
  
“Cute story. I know this hasn’t gone too well in the past, but I’m looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.”  
  
“Thanks! I’ll do my best!” he cried out, excitedly. He knew that it was going to go wonderfully today, it just had to. “It’ll take about half an hour, so sit tight! If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen! I’m gonna knock your socks off today, I promise!”  
  
“Got it,” she responded flatly, lighting a cigarette as Haruto left the breakroom, shutting the door behind him. He was full of nervous energy as he bounded over to the kitchen, all too eager to get started on what he was sure would be his greatest dish yet.  
  
~~~  
  
“Oh gosh, I...I’ve really done it!” he cried out gleefully, bringing a small spoonful of sauce to his lips and savoring the wonderfully rich flavors he’d so easily combined. He couldn’t believe it. Failure after failure with no signs of improvement, and suddenly he’d made a pasta sauce worthy of, in his opinion, a chef far, far above his usual standard. At the very least, he was sure he’d matched the taste of his mother’s home cooking, and that was more than good enough for him.  
  
“Buuut...it’s not quite...me, is it? This is exactly what mom used to make, but I need to really make it my own…” he muttered, setting the spoon to the side and rooting through his shopping bag, pulling out the odd spice he’d brought with him and giving it a thoughtful look.  
  
He knew that he’d struggled to bring out the flavors in any of his ingredients in the past, and while it took Kisaki’s advice to get him to finally act on it, he’d wanted to make his dishes distinct from the moment he’d set upon his journey to become a chef, so he picked up a strange, unlabeled bottle of spice from a store he’d passed by weeks ago. He had no idea what it really contained, but the clerk had assured him that it’d give whatever he used it on a ‘wonderfully unique flavor that nobody could ever forget.’ It sounded a little sketchy, but he’d been desperate, so he bought it anyway, only to leave it sitting in his kitchen, completely untouched.  
  
Today, he’d decided, would finally be the day he’d get some mileage out of it. Yes, he was happier with this dish than anything else he’d made thus far, but he knew that, with this, he’d finally escape all the doubt that had left him playing it safe for so long. If it turned out bad, well, there was always next time.  
  
So, he added it the sauce.  
  
He started out with just a pinch, turning up the heat on the stove and letting it really mix in nicely, but that seemed wrong to him. He really needed to make his mark on all of this, to throw caution to the wind and leave all of his fears behind, so he started sprinkling in just a little more, smiling at the pleasant, paprika-esque scent it gave off. It left him feeling almost blissful. He couldn’t believe how incredible this spice seemed to be, the way it seemed to take over all of his senses, the whole world around him seeming to fade away, causing him to not notice that he was pouring in more and more of the spice. The scent grew stronger and stronger as his thoughts became hazier and hazier. He stirred the sauce aimlessly, the motion now feeling completely automatic, but he added more still, certain that the more spice he put in, the better the food would be.  
  
Haruto was pulled out of his daze, by his lungs suddenly filling with the smoke that was steadily wafting up out of the pot, sending him into a coughing fit. His eyes stung as his throat tightened up, raising the pitch of his coughs by the second while he struggled to find the knob for the burner, quickly turning off the heat, and clearing out the smoke as best as he could through desperate, gasping breaths. Thankfully, he was able to make the room breathable again with little trouble, but still, he was exhausted, clinging to a countertop for stability and panting heavily. As the smoke continued to dissipate, the air remained thick with an overbearing, peppery smell. He stared down at the sauce, seeing just how the spice had affected it.  
  
It looked, in a word, terrible. The powdery spice and overheating had turned it a dull, ugly orange color. The consistency was completely ruined as well, leaving it far too thick and heavy, his spoon struggling to even move through it as he gave it a cursory stir. Any sensible person would’ve thrown this out, started over completely from scratch, and left out that mystery spice, but despite absolutely everything...Haruto smiled.  
  
“Perfect! It’s my recipe, and nobody else’s!” he cried out ecstatically, his head still too muddled for him to notice the high pitch and excitable tone his voice had taken on. “Kisaki’ll have to like this, because it’s unique! Ahaha, I’m going to be a world-class chef!” He briefly contemplated trying it again to see if the spice had improved things at all, despite the clear evidence of how thoroughly it had been ruined, but, no, he told himself that would be ridiculous. After all, “Kisaki deserves to have as much of this as possible! It’d be greedy if I took any for…”  
  
He cleared his throat, only now noticing that something was amiss with his voice. “I’m not just going to take…” Clearing it again, he grabbed at his throat, confused by the fact that he not only felt no blockage whatsoever, and by how...smooth it now felt, his Adam’s apple nowhere to be found.  
  
“It’s hiding! It retreated to get away from all that smoke!” he cried out, still somewhat dizzy, but convinced that his reasoning made perfect sense. “But...that’s not really a problem. My voice sounds...yeah, it sounds cute!” He’d never been concerned with even seeming the least bit cute in the past, giving no real mind to how he presented himself, but now, the sweet, if very loud, voice he now possessed seemed more like a point of pride, if anything. He couldn’t help but feel delighted by how each word came out short and sharp, like an absolute declaration without a hint of doubt or sadness to be found.  
  
“Well, then!” he declared to nobody in particular, finding no reason not to voice his thoughts out loud as he clapped his hands together and wiped at the front of his apron, “I’ll just let this cool down for a bit while I use the bathroom!” To him, this was sound logic. If the food had gotten too hot because it overheated, of course it was a terrific idea to let it go cold! Smiling happily to himself as he celebrated his brilliant judgement, his grin became more pronounced as, unbeknownst to him, his lips became just a touch fuller and took on a gentle pink color. The smile only got wider as his face softened, his skin shifting to a healthier, warmer tone. Stepping into the bathroom and heading into one of the stalls, he couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror, immediately forgetting whatever it was he thought he was there to do and getting as close as he possibly could to his reflection, a small part of his brain managing to send off the signal that something was just ever-so-slightly off. He gasped as his nose shrunk down in front of his eyes, becoming a small, delicate little button, while those same, amazed eyes grew even wider while the usual dull blue of his irises shifted into a warm, almost caramel brown color.  
  
“Whoa! That’s…” He searched to find the right word to use as he stared at his face in the mirror. It was undeniable that his face was changing, looking far happier and more energetic with each second that passed, his cheeks becoming cuter and rounder as they filled out and his chin smoothing down to a soft, little curve. “Amazing! I look so youthful, so...vibrant! Yeah, vibrant, that’s it!” His elations stopped for a second as a vague recollection surged to the front of his mind, barreling over any other thoughts, the importance of the memory amplified by the sight of his eyelashes growing fuller and thicker, and his brows thinning out, becoming warm, happy, arcs. He remembered, vividly now, being served plates of delicious food when he was younger by someone who looked, so, so similar to the way he did now. He’d always ask the chef how her meals could possibly turn out so incredible, only to be met with the same response every single time:  
  
_“That’s just your mother’s girl power! It’s my own secret ingredient, so you know that everything I make is filled with love!”_  
  
“Ah!” he cried out, pointing at his reflection in an almost accusatory manner. As he poked against the glass, his hair started growing just a little longer, falling into a more feminine style. Each strand dyed itself to a rich honey brown as it thickened, taking on a soft, silky sheen. “I...I look like mom! That’s mom’s face! Well, kinda? She was never this young, was she? I mean, I never saw her at this age, but...hmmm?” The more he thought about it, the more confused he felt. She...had to have been this young at one point, right? “No no, she’s...she’s mom! She’s always been an adult, yep!” He nodded, seeing no problem with the conclusion he reached, as the last vestiges of his common sense began to dwindle away. “But if she was my age...yeah, she’d probably look just like this!” His shouts grew more enthusiastic as he grinned, an increasingly solid idea of what was happening to him beginning to form in his head. “So that means… This is that girl power stuff! That spice brought out all my girl power, so I look like mom’s daughter, which means I’m becoming a girl! Ah-ha, it makes perfect sense!” She was so, so pleased with herself for having deduced what she felt had to be the reality of the situation in so little time, not bothered in the slightest by how surreal this all was, the idea that she was changing only lighting a fire in her and getting her more excited.  
  
“That’s great! Girl power made all of mom’s cooking better, so it’ll make mine better too! Oooh, Kisaki’s so lucky! She’s gonna get to eat the best meal anyone’ll ever-Oof!” For as upbeat as she was, she was still cut off by the shock her shoulders tightening, becoming stiff as though she was somehow being squeezed down. A sense of vertigo overcame her as the room seemed to rise up around her. She watched in the mirror as her tall, broad frame shrunk down to a more compact, slight build. Her sleeves hung loose over her hands as her arms shrunk down, light traces of muscle melting away, leaving them looking slender and lithe. At the same time, her hands grew increasingly delicate beneath her sleeves, the fingers growing longer and slimmer by the second, while her nails got just a little longer, taking on a cuter, more carefully trimmed shape. “Nobody’s around, so it’s OK if I take a look!” She quickly scrambled to pull off her clothes, fumbling slightly with her now bulky, loose shirt, before deciding to just go all out and take absolutely everything off. “It’ll all change in a sec anyway! Might as well get this over with!”  
  
“...But it looks kinda weird right now…” she muttered as soon as she’d taken off the last of her clothes, looking over her half-changed body with a slight frown before immediately picking her mood back up. “That’s just right now, though! It’ll look great in a sec! And...ooh, yeah, it’s getting started again!” she cried as her eyes caught a glimpse of her nipples lightening, turning a soft pink color as they puffed up, the areolae growing just a little larger in turn. Knowing exactly what that meant for what she’d be going through next, she cupped her pecs gently, giggling at the pleasant, tingly sensation that pulsed through her body as her fingers grazed her nipples. She couldn’t help but fixate on the feeling of her chest growing softer and supler, with just a hint of firmness lying under the surface, as it swelled up within her grasp. Her hands were pushed outwards as they continued to grow, stopping only once they’d reached a very generous handful. They weren’t quite as big as someone like Kisaki, but they definitely weren’t far behind. “Oh wow! Boobs feel so good! Is that where all the girl power’s stored? Kisaki must have a ton...” she murmured, squeezing them playfully. “I’m gonna need a bra! Maybe Kisaki’s got a spare that’ll fit! I should go ask! But, oh! I should wait until I’m giving her the food to speak to her, huh? Ah well, not much longer!”  
  
As she continued to gently squeeze her chest, she noticed, oddly, that her bust now seemed larger, somehow. They didn’t fill up her hands anymore than they had a second ago, and they definitely hadn’t gotten any heavier, her chest still looking just as perky now as it had when it first filled in. Still...they really did seem bigger… She pondered it for a moment, pouting as she put her hands on her hips, before they were suddenly pushed drastically outwards, her gaze turning towards the mirror just in time to see her hips getting much, much wider, gently curving up to her slender, gorgeous waistline and-  
  
“Oh, I get it! I got a bit of a workout!” She moved her hands up her surprisingly athletic-looking body, her finger tracing her soft, smooth skin from her luscious hips to her tight, toned tummy, leading all the way up to her breasts once more. “You didn’t get bigger, huh? I just got cuter!” She felt good, far better than she had in...she didn’t know how long it had been, but she felt so...flexible, so tight, so energetic. She couldn’t help but do a few light stretches, pleased by how limber she now seemed to be. Well, the parts of her that had changed felt good, anyway. Still, as she turned to look behind her, grabbing at her now wider butt as it started to round out, tightening and lifting at the same time and taking on an adorable, squeezable heart shape, she grinned, knowing it wouldn’t be long before everything else followed suit. “Just legs! Then…” she looked down, gulping at the sight of her crotch, “that bit…” She blushed, suddenly feeling incredibly shy, worried that someone would burst into the room any minute now. She started to walk over to a stall, but ended up tripping after a single step, twisting as she fell and landing straight on her butt, thrown off balance by her legs starting to change.  
  
“Ow ow ow!” she yelled, rubbing the spot she’d just fallen on. “Jeez, that’s gonna bruise!” She couldn’t remain too annoyed, however, her shouts quickly giving way to sheer awe as she looked down at her legs, watching her fairly skinny thighs fill out, taking on a softer, rounder shape. Unable to resist, she grabbed at them, caressing them lovingly and rubbing them against each other, feeling how smooth, how supple and soft it all felt, any trace of body hair that she’d once possessed having completely left her, leaving everything feeling silky and wonderful. Her calves changed next, tightening and firming up slightly before her feet began to turn slim and delicate, reducing to almost half the size they’d once been, her toes getting thinner and just a tiny bit longer, looking far cuter than they ever really had. “Ohhhh, everything really does look so much better now! It all feels so incredible, too! I should get dressed and go show Kisaki!” she cried out with an almost childish enthusiasm as she went to pick herself up off the ground.  
  
Haruto found her legs quivering, though, as she pulled herself straight, stumbling a little to keep her balance, eventually relying on the sink in front of her to steady herself. “Haha, guess this might take some getting used t-ooh!” Her last word came out as more of a moan than a declaration, spurred on by a warm, fuzzy feeling overtaking her crotch. “Oh, right, there’s still that, huh…” she said, her voice sounding more distant and dreamy with each word as the sensation travelled up deep into her stomach. “Haaah...maybe I should take a look at that, too…”  
  
She tried her best to look at her crotch, straining her neck this way and that, but, ultimately, found herself blocked at every attempt. “Jeez, my girl power’s getting in the way,” she pouted, poking at her breasts like an upset child before grabbing onto them, thinking she could spread them apart and at least get a glimpse of herself that way. A loud moan escaped her lips the second she tried, though. “Mnnnnh! W-wow...th-these got really sensitive all of a sudden…” she murmured, letting go of her chest and looking down at it with a newly found appreciation.  
  
“Still...I really wanna see…” she whined, feeling the heat in her stomach flare up, accompanied by a wet feeling between her legs that started to slowly travel down to her thighs. She lifted a leg up, pausing for a second as she got used to how her balance shifted, then grabbed onto it with her hands to stop it from shaking as she hoisted it further, her foot resting on the lip of the sink. “Now if I just...carefully…” she warned herself, taking a couple of short hops back on her other foot, and then leaning back, desperately trying to angle herself so that she could see her crotch in the mirror in front of her.  
  
She felt a sudden jolt through her body, all of her senses suddenly crying out before going completely silent, and she lost her footing, tumbling backwards and falling, once again on her butt, though not before catching a brief, momentary glimpse of something soft, pink, and undeniably wet between her thighs.. “Owww…that really smarts!” she cried out, not sure if the numb, tingly feeling in her body was from the changes or from hurting her tailbone. “A-alright...gonna take it easy this time…” Slowly, she rose back up to her feet, pressing up against the wall for support until she felt comfortable enough to pull away from it, standing on her own two, significantly smaller, and cuter, feet.  
  
She looked into the mirror once more, a feeling of smug satisfaction washing over her as she took in as much of her reflection as possible.  
  
“Yep! Definitely much cuter than...than...huh?”  
  
She looked different earlier, right? When she’d walked in here, she was sure her reflection wasn’t even close to what it is now. She’d changed somehow, she knew that much, but the hows and whys of it all completely eluded her. Her head hurt a little as she turned it all over in her mind, not coming any closer to figuring out what had happened, her memories of the way she’d once looked feeling foggier by the seconding. But...that was fine, she really didn’t feel bad about that in the slightest, save for her small headache, because, after all…  
  
“I’ve got way more girl power now!” she cried out as she cupped her breasts happily, content that that was more than enough reasoning for her. There was no point in wondering about it, that’d just be looking a gift horse in the mouth, wouldn’t it? Not that she really knew what that meant, but still, it seemed like the appropriate sentiment. She stopped giving it even the slightest thought soon after as a light chill crept through her body and she forced out a soft sneeze.  
  
“It’s friggin’ cold in here!” she yelled, quickly picking up her old clothes and slipping them on as fast as she could, looking ridiculous in garments that were clearly made for someone much larger than her. Still, she was happy enough just to be clothed right now, rolling up her sleeves until her hands weren’t covered at all.  
  
“Much better! But...wasn’t I doing something?” she asked, pondering why she’d come in here in the first place, gasping as she remembered what she’d been in the middle of.  
  
“The food! I bet Kisaki’s starving, too! She’ll be so happy when she gets to dig in! I bet it’ll be the best meal she’ll ever eat! At least until I make something else, then that’ll be even better! Then I’ll top that again with something even tastier, and then I’ll…” she trailed off, realizing that she could potentially keep this going forever if she didn’t stop now. “Point is, she’s gonna get first-class meals from the world’s greatest chef whenever she wants! Gotta show her how much I love her!” she declared, boldly stating something she’d been far too shy to admit out loud before she’d entered the bathroom. She walked back to the kitchen with an upbeat grin painted on her face, ignoring the way her pants dragged across the floor as she walked, or how her shoes felt practically cavernous now, slapping roughly against the ground with every step she took. “I bet the food’s gotten kinda cold, but eh, who cares! I’ll just microwave it a little. It’ll probably end up tasting even better!”  
  
~~~  
  
Kisaki looked up from her phone as a plate of...something was put in front of her. She’d been expecting pasta, but whatever she was looking at now, well...she could at least make out something pasta-like within it, but the indiscriminate mess in front of her was, without a doubt, one of the worst-looking meals she’d ever seen in her entire life.  
  
“What the hell am I looking at?”  
  
“It’s...uhhh...Carbon? Carbonara! Yes, Carbonara pasta! That’s it! My mom’s special recipe!” A peppy, high voice excitedly yelled, though Kisaki was too distracted by the abomination on her plate to notice.  
  
She took a long, heavy drag of her cigarette. Haruto’s food wasn’t anything special, but looking at this…  
  
Well, she was definitely glad she’d eaten something light earlier.  
  
“There’s no way in hell I’m eating that,” she said, taking another drag, her voice containing just enough bitterness to really tick off the chef.  
  
“Hey! You promised, didn’t you? Besides, I know it’s incredible, so you’ll really be missing out!”  
  
“If it’s so amazing, show me? Why don’t you have some first?” Kisaki asked, picking up her phone once more and idly scrolling through a news feed, the conversation she was technically part of annoying her too much to devote her full attention to it.  
  
“That’s ridiculous, Kisaki! What kind of chef tastes their own food when they’re cooking for an audience?”  
  
“...I think I get why you’ve been struggling, Haru...to?” she looked up at her chef for the first time since they’d come back, but if the voice she’d barely paid attention to hadn’t already tipped her off, the cute girl beaming down at her proudly definitely showed her that, whoever she was talking to, they absolutely weren’t the boy who’d left to go make what was, at least on some level, meant to be carbonara.  
  
“Hmmm, no...that’s a guy’s name. I’m a girl! Hit your head or something, Kisaki? Dunno how you’d ever confuse me for a guy!”  
  
“Look,” she scowled, clearly ticked off by some stranger implying she was in any way confused, “I don’t think that *you’re* a guy, but I am expecting one to show up any second now with food that will, unlike whatever you’ve brought, actually be edible, and…why are you wearing his clothes?”  
  
“Jeez, Kisaki! You really aren’t thinking clearly, huh? I already told you I’d be making dinner, why would you get two chefs to cook for you tonight? Are you that hungry?”  
  
Her scowl intensified. “I only expected one person to make anything for me today, that’s Haruto, who you very clearly aren’t. So whatever this is,” she looked over at the meal she’d been brought, pushing the plate further away from her with disdain, “doesn’t belong here. I dunno who you were cooking for, but it definitely wasn’t me. Besides, you didn’t answer my question.”  
  
“You asked a question? Oh yeah! About the food! I already told you, that’s carbonara pasta! My mom’s recipe!”  
  
“No, not that…” she groaned, putting out her cigarette and clutching at her temples in frustration, “I asked you about your clothes. Those look like Haruto’s, so why are you wearing them?”  
  
“It’s a work uniform, of course I’m wearing it!” The strange girl grinned, clearly seeing nothing wrong with the situation in the slightest.  
  
“That’s the men’s uniform,” Kisaki replied, keeping as calm as possible as she exhausted a whole month’s worth of patience.  
  
“It is? Oh yeah! That’d explain why it’s so big! I swear it fit earlier, though…” she pouted. “Maybe it grew in the wash or something.”  
  
“That’s not…” She sighed, realizing that none of this was getting through to her remarkably dense company. “Look,” she stood up, poking at the girl’s shirt, “that’s his nametag. Haruto’s nametag, not yours. You’re in his clothes, so tell me how you ended up in them.”  
  
“Ohhhhh, gotcha! Well, it’s simple! I...gosh, my head’s all kinds of foggy! But I definitely got up out of bed, then I picked these out of my closet and put them on, since they’re my clothes.”  
  
“But...they’ve got Haruto’s name on them.”  
  
“Yep! Weird!”  
  
“You’re not Haruto.”  
  
“Nope!”  
  
“So then...who are you?” Kisaki asked, unsure why she was keeping this going at all. She could have, and almost definitely should have, left by now, but as frustrating as this all was, it was almost...entertaining.  
  
“Kisaki! I’ve been your friend for months, I can’t believe you’d forget me! I’m Ha...hmmm...It started with a ‘Ha,’ I’m pretty sure, but Haruto’s definitely not my name. There’s no way it could be, since I’m a girl. Jeez, did I forget me too? Oh! I had way less girl power earlier today, so-”  
  
“What was that?” Kisaki asked, her curiosity piqued.  
  
“I said my name starts with ‘Ha!’”  
  
“No, about...ugh...‘girl power,’” she groaned.  
  
“Oh yeah! When I was cooking, I started getting a bunch of girl power! So my chest got all big, kinda like...well, no not like yours, you’ve got way more girl power than me! Maybe I’ll get there someday, though!”  
  
“You...you didn’t have this ‘girl power’ before?” She winced, the term sounding worse every time she heard it, but she had the feeling she was on the cusp of getting to the bottom of all of this, even if the conclusion she was reaching grew more ridiculous by the second.  
  
“Yep! Actually…”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“I just thought maybe...nah. There’s no way I could’ve been a guy before, but...I definitely wasn’t girly so...maybe Haruto was a name I used once? Like a sue...suit...suit of...”  
  
“...A ‘pseudonym?’”  
  
“Yeah, that! A suitofnim!”  
  
Kisaki sighed deeply, choosing to just move on. “I can’t believe I’m about to ask this, but did you somehow turn into a girl, Haruto?”  
  
“Like I said, I’m not Haruto!” she yelled, before quieting down. “But...my head’s felt kinda funny since I went to go make your food, and...I mean…”  
  
“Okay, look, just sit down, and we’ll take it from the top,” Kisaki said, pushing her down onto a chair. “What happened today?”  
  
“Well, like I said, I got up in the morning and put on my-”  
  
“No, no, not that far back. Just...just the last hour, or whatever. Since you got off work. And keep it short.”  
  
“Uhm...I remember talking to you a little bit about what I was going to make, then I went out into the kitchen and started making that carbonara for you. I looked into it after what we talked about yesterday, remember? And then...eheh, I guess it must have smelled so good that I had to step away from it or I would have just eaten it all. So I went to the bathroom for a bit and then came back to give it to you? I think that’s it…”  
  
Kisaki stared at the girl in front her for a long while, looking her up and down, from the loose-fitting pants to the strained shirt, realizing that, as absolutely moronic as it sounded, there wasn’t really any other explanation for things. She also wished she had a carton of smokes in her car, but, unfortunately, the pack in her pocket was her last until she stopped by the store. At the very least, she knew exactly what she was doing when she was done here.  
  
“Alright, yeah, I think I get it now, Hana.”  
  
“Hana?” the girl questioned, tilting her head.  
  
“Yeah, Hana. You said it starts with a ‘Ha’ and isn’t a guy’s name, so you’re Hana. I’ve decided.”  
  
“Oh! Yeah, that must be it!” she said, nodding and giving a satisfied grin. “Yeah, I’m Hana! Remember me now, Kisaki?”  
  
“Mm, I do,” she said, giving a slight nod.  
  
“So you’ll eat the pasta I made for you, then?!” Hana excitedly asked.  
  
“No, absolutely not.”  
  
“Come oooon!” she complained. “It wasn’t easy to make, y’know?! Besides, that’s world class food!”  
  
“I’d let you down gently, tell you my palate just isn’t refined enough, but something tells me you wouldn’t get that, would you?”  
  
“Doesn’t matter how refined or unrefined you are! It’s good food, Kisaki!” she said, raising her voice as she grew increasingly frustrated.  
  
“Maybe by your standards, but...you won’t even try it yourself, will you? Not even a little bite.”  
  
“No way! I made that for you!”  
  
“Well, if you won’t, then I won’t.”  
  
“And if I do?” Hana asked, annoyed that she even had to entertain the idea.  
  
“I still won’t.”  
  
“Why not?!”  
  
“Because for all I know, that’s the reason you’ve been all...confused tonight, and if it did such a number on you, I don’t even wanna think about what it might do to me.”  
  
“That’s ridiculous, Kisaki!”  
  
“So is turning into a girl.”  
  
“Yep! That’s completely ridiculous too! It’d never happen! That’s not important though, it’s just important that you try the meal I made for you!”  
  
“Not in a hundred years.”  
  
“But after that?!” Hana’s eyes lit up enthusiastically.  
  
Kisaki just stared at her blankly for a moment, not even slightly surprised by what she was hearing at this point.  
  
“Kisakiiiii!”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“After that? Huh? You’ll try it after that?”  
  
“Make it a thousand, and I’ll give it some thought.”  
  
“Perfect! I guess that gives me way more time to get even better! But I’m holding you to that, got it? So you’d better think hard, Kisaki!”  
  
“Fine by me. But you know, I do my best thinking in bed, so maybe we should both head home, hmm? We’ve got tomorrow off, so we can talk about how to best deal with any...problems that might come up for you.”  
  
“Oh! Good call! I’m feeling kinda tired too!” she said, her excitable tone not showing even the slightest hint of fatigue.  
  
“I’m gonna drive you home. I don’t trust you to walk alone right now.”  
  
“Haha, you don’t have to go that far! I’ll beat up anyone who tries anything, Kisaki!”  
  
“Didn’t know your route home was so fraught with danger.” Kisaki gave a slight smile, finding that humoring Hana, as scatterbrained as she now seemed to be, was fun in its own way.  
  
“Yup! There’s all sorts of…uhhh...there’s just, y’know…”  
  
“Convenience stores and coffee shops?” Kisaki teased.  
  
“Yeah! I mean, no, that’s not dangerous at all! But...wait, do I even pass by those? I’ve gotta, right?”  
  
Kisaki sighed, immediately picking up on another, potentially even bigger problem. “You don’t know where you live, do you?”  
  
“Of course I do! Forgetting something like that’d be-”  
  
“Ridiculous, sure. That’s not the point though, tell me where you live.”  
  
“Uhhh, well, I definitely had a bedroom, yeah, that’s gotta be there, but what else…?” Hana pondered, a thoughtful expression on her face.  
  
“Fancy. That doesn’t answer the question though.”  
  
“It was...a building!” She smiled at Kisaki, confident that her answer was perfect.  
  
“I should hope so. Was it a house or an apartment?” She wasn’t even sure why she was asking, at this point. It had become abundantly clear that Hana didn’t have the slightest idea of where she’d lived, but while she pondered what to do with her, watching her get all worked up trying to recall even the most basic information was a surprisingly fun diversion.  
  
“Yep!” she replied, though it wasn’t clear what, exactly, her answer was to. “It had a roof! And...doors! Definitely doors, Kisaki!”  
  
“Right.” Kisaki picked herself up out of her chair. “We’ve killed enough time here, I think. Let’s get going.”  
  
“You know where I live?!”  
  
“Sure do, I’m gonna take you home. But we’re stopping and grabbing smokes on the way, got it?”  
  
“That stuff’s bad for you though, Kisaki!” Hana said, bounding out of her chair, her expression turning confused as she felt a thick, heavy coat being draped over her shoulders.  
  
“If I didn’t smoke, this conversation would’ve run dry a lot faster. That’s my coat, by the way, so be careful with it. I just figure your old jacket has no chance of fitting you,” Kisaki said, picking up Hana’s old coat that she’d left on the table before heading out to cook, “but I’m a lot bigger than you, so it’ll probably fit me well enough. Just...figured you could take that for the time being. It’s pretty cold out, after all.”  
  
“You don’t have to do that for me, y’know…” Hana said, feeling almost guilty that Kisaki was being so generous today.  
  
“I’m really gonna have to get used to hearing you say that, huh?” she said with a sigh, taking Hana by the hand and walking to the front of the restaurant, leaving the plate of what was supposed to be food behind. “But no matter what you say, I’m not backing down. I’m going to help you, Hana.”  
  
“Ahahaha!” Hana laughed heartily as they stepped out into the cold, Kisaki locking the doors behind them.  
  
“What’s so funny?”  
  
“You’re being really amazing, Kisaki! It’s uhhhh...what’s the word? When someone’s really helpful and stuff?”  
  
“Gallant?”  
  
“No, longer than that.”  
  
“Courteous?”  
  
“‘Cool!’ That’s it,” she declared, completely ignoring Kisaki’s suggestions, “you’re being really cool! Like you’re some kind of knight or something!”  
  
“Sure, let’s go with that…” Kisaki said, turning away from Hana and smiling softly as the two of them walked towards her car.  
  
~~~  
  
“Kisaki…?” Hana started, looking at the door of the building they were standing outside of.  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“I know my head’s kinda foggy, so maybe I’m remembering wrong, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t where I live.”  
  
“Really?” she asked, taking a drag from her cigarette as she unlocked the door to her apartment. “Because my mind’s crystal clear, and I’m pretty sure you live here. With me.”  
  
“But-”  
  
Kisaki wasn’t going to let up on this. There was no way she was going to leave someone who’d just been through so much, even if they barely remembered it, alone on the street in the middle of winter. Beyond that, though, she’d come to realize that, since finding out who Hana was, she’d found herself increasingly enjoying her company. She’d always been sweet, that much hadn’t changed, and it seemed like the obvious crush she’d had on her was still going strong, but, now, Kisaki felt it was a little less one-sided. Despite how cold she herself could be and how much of a pain she played up their conversations as being, she’d found herself easily settling into a rhythm with Hana, a comfy groove that was more than a little fun. She also couldn’t help but admire how optimistic she was in the face of her increasingly desperate situation, even if she was mostly clueless a lot of the time. There was something about her smile and how, where she’d once have been discouraged by her failures, she now charged on, full steam ahead, towards improving herself. Kisaki wasn’t sure she’d ever be a great chef, or, really, even a good one, but she was determined to work hard, and she couldn’t help but admire that commitment, even if she’d never actually taste her food.  
  
More than that, though, being with Hana just made her feel so warm in a way she never really did before. She was happy to have her around and chat with her even when the conversation was just running in circles. She could easily see herself getting addicted to that feeling and wanted to it last.  
  
“Maybe you didn’t, at one point, and maybe one day you’ll remember wherever it is you did and you can go back, but for now, at least, you live here with me. I’m not letting you sleep out on the street. So just think of this as your home, got it?” she said, finishing up her cigarette and smashing it out on a nearby ashtray.  
  
“B-but only couples and families live together, right? Er, I guess roommates do too, but-mmmph?!” Her eyes widened as Kisaki walked right up to her, pressing her lips tightly against the smaller girl’s in a warm, passionate kiss, before Hana returned the gesture with just as much enthusiasm, sticking her tongue in Kisaki’s mouth, the two of them quickly losing sight of the world around them as they gave in to the sheer pleasure of the moment.  
  
“So,” Kisaki said, smiling confidently as she pulled away from the kiss. “I guess we’re a couple now, so we can live together. Sound good?”  
  
Hana’s head was spinning even more than usual, so wrapped up in how wonderful the kiss was that she dismissed the smokiness of Kisaki’s mouth as part of her mature, cool taste. She tried her best to answer, but all she could do was give a goofy smile.  
  
“Take your time. If that was too forward, I’m sorry about that.”  
  
“N-no! Not at all!” Hana cried out, calming herself just enough to respond. “That was amazing, sweetheart! Er, is ‘darling’ better? ‘Honey?’”  
  
“‘Kisaki.’ Pet names are one bridge I’m never crossing.”  
  
“Awwww, c’mon! You can call me something really adorable if you want!”  
  
“Let’s treat this the same way as we treated that pasta, OK? Get back to me in a few hundred years.”  
  
“Perfect! I’ll come up with the best pet name before then!”  
  
“Yep, looking forward to it,” Kisaki lied. “Still, this’ll work out. I was worried about where you’d sleep but-”  
  
“Couples share a bed!” Hana interrupted, giddily.  
  
Kisaki smiled. “My thoughts exactly. How about we both head to sleep, huh? It’s been a long day and we could both use the rest. Tomorrow, we’ll head out and get you some new clothes.”  
  
“Ooh, yeah, that sounds great! You’re being so generous, Kisaki! But I swear I’m gonna make it up to you! I’ll do chores around the house, and I’ll cook meals for you every single day, and-”  
  
“Do that and you’re going right back out on the street,” Kisaki cut her off, flatly. It was hard to tell if she was serious or not.  
  
“R-right… Well, I’ll do something to repay you, Kisaki!”  
  
“You don’t have to go that far, moron…” she said, hugging her new girlfriend softly, feeling her return the hug happily.  
  
“Well, I wanna do *something* for you, to show you how much I love you!” Hana replied, smiling warmly.  
  
“I love you too, Hana. And look…” she trailed off.  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“If you really wanna do something for me, then I’m looking forward to helping you find out whatever it is. If you get your memories back, that’s great. If you don’t, well…”  
  
“Well?”  
  
“We’ll just have to make some of our own, won’t we?”  
  
Hana beamed broadly at Kisaki, practically shouting out a response with all of her heart.  
  
“Definitely! I can’t wait!”  
  
~~~  
  
“...-saki!”  
  
Kisaki groaned, rolled over on her side, and pulled the covers over her head.  
  
“Kisaki!”  
  
She didn’t know what was going on, and, frankly, didn’t care, at least not until she got another twenty minutes of sleep, minimum. She’d pulled a double shift and closed, and she could still feel the dull throb of the headache she’d developed about halfway through the night.  
  
“Hey, come on Kisaki! Don’t be a sleepyhead!”  
  
Kisaki groaned again, remembering very distinctly telling her girlfriend not to wake her up, for any reason, before 10 as she felt hands press down on the covers, followed by light, but firm rocking.  
  
“No, come on, this is serious!”  
  
She closed her eyes tight, desperately hoping she’d just fall asleep as she was rocked and jostled against the mattress, her headache spiking a little with each bump. Finally, just as Hana was starting to beat a rhythm out on her head, she snapped the covers off and sat up..  
  
“Alright, fine, I’m up!” she yelled, her voice hoarse and scratchy. “God, Hana, I love you, but what is it?”  
  
“Finally! Jeez, you really aren’t an early bird at all! I made you breakfast!”  
  
“Good night.”  
  
Hana quickly reached out, pulling Kisaki’s body up as she tried to lay back down.  
  
“Nope, not hearing it. I’m going to back to bed.”  
  
“Come on, Kisaki! It’s really good, I promise! I practiced and everything to make it perfect so I’d be ready for tonight!”  
  
“And what’s tonight?”  
  
“Jeez, come on, I told you like a million times! I finally talked the boss into trying my cooking, remember? If he likes it, I can get promoted to being a cook!”  
  
“That’s...great, Hana, really,” Kisaki groaned, picking herself up out of bed and stumbling through to the kitchen. “I hope it goes well for you. I’ll be thinking about you all day.” She poured herself a cup of coffee, took a deep sip, and let out a heavy, contented sigh.  
  
“So you’ll try the food?!” Hana asked, her eyes lighting up with joy.  
  
“No.” Kisaki pulled a cigarette out of the pack she’d left on the counter, stuck it between her lips, and lit it, ignoring Hana’s loud protesting. “Look,” she cut Hana off from whatever it was she was saying, “I’m awake now. I just figured I’d start the day off with coffee and a cigarette, that’s the only reason I got out of bed.”  
  
“But I worked really hard on it, Kisaki!”  
  
“Yeah, I know you did,” she gave a wry smile, resting the cigarette on an ashtray and leaning in to kiss Hana lovingly, “but I’m not your audience here, got it? I’m rooting for you, though. I promise.”  
  
“Okay…” Hana pouted, before going back for another kiss, giggling slightly as she pulled back. No matter what, it was always easy to cheer her up from any bad mood.  
  
“Ah!” she suddenly yelled, looking over at a clock on the wall, “I’m gonna be late, Kisaki!”  
  
“Well maybe if you didn’t spend so much time making a breakfast that you knew I wouldn’t touch…”  
  
“I got up early to make it so that I wouldn’t be late! It’s your fault for being so hard to wake up!”  
  
Kisaki put a finger to Hana’s lips.  
  
“Remember what I said about my days off?” she asked, her lips curled into a teasing smile.  
  
“‘There’s no damn way I’m getting up before 10’?”  
  
“Good girl. So this is in no way my fault.”  
  
“I guess so, but-”  
  
“Arguing with me’s only going to make you later, y’know that?”  
  
“Yeah, I was just, er…” she tried to think of something to say in response, but gave up. “I’ll just run all the way to work! And...my day wouldn’t be nearly as good if I didn’t start it telling you that I love you! So...I love you, Kisaki!”  
  
“Love you too, Hana. Knock it out of the park today, got it?”  
  
“Of course! Have a great day off!” Hana said, quickly pulling on a coat and bounding off to the front door.  
  
“You know I will. See you later, Hana.”  
  
“Bye Kisaki!” she waved enthusiastically, throwing open the door and running off to work at full speed, letting it swing shut behind her.  
  
“That girl, I swear…” Kisaki mumbled, taking another pull from her cigarette. “There’ll be no end of complaints from the customers if they make her a cook. But, still, I hope she gets it. Not that girl needs any more confidence or energy, but it’d really make her happy,” she said, scraping the breakfast she’d made into the garbage.  
  
“Besides,” she took one last drag from her cigarette, gulping down the rest of her coffee as she headed straight back to bed, “maybe it’ll get her to stop trying to make me eat her cooking,” she said, lying down and pulling the covers over her body.  
  
“Doubt it, though,” she sleepily mumbled, a soft smile on her face as she started to doze off once more.


End file.
